1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bundler including a bill handling system for sorting various bills of different denominations, counting the number of sorted bills into a bundle. As used in this application bill implies various kinds of valuable sheets such as paper moneys, securities, merchandise coupons, checks, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, a sorter having a bill handling machine for sorting bills of different denominations and counting the sorted bills has become widely used. In addition, bill bundlers for bundling bills of the same denomination 100 sheets by 100 sheets, for instance, have been put into practical use.
As a natural consequence, sorters having bill handling machines provided with a bill bundling function also have been developed. In these bundler including bill handling machines, various bills inserted into the machine are arranged (e.g. counterfeit bill check, bill face arrangement, bill fitness (damage) check), sorted into bills of the same denomination, counted for each group of sorted bills, verified on the basis of deposit slips, accommodated in a safe for each sorted denomination, and bundled into bundles of a predetermined number of the same bills. Further, some information such as bank name, deposit transaction date, etc. is stamped on a tape for bundling a predetermined number of bills, in order to assure, confirm, and clarify the responsibility of the number of bills.
These bundlers including bill handling machines are very convenient, because sorting, counting and bundling of bills can be effected at a high speed as compared with when these operations are effected separately.
In the conventional bundler including a bill handling machine, however, there exists the following problem: when one deposit transaction is completed before bills of the same denomination to be bundled reach a predetermined number (e.g. 100 bills), the remaining bills less than a predetermined number should be removed manually from the machine before starting the succeeding deposit transaction. This manual preliminary operation (removal of remaining bills) is not preferable from the standpoint of precision and efficiency. Therefore, there exists a demand for enabling the succeeding transaction to operate automatically, without manually removing bills remaining in the bill handling machine.